Chronicles of foibles and conquests in life

Last Saturday was my Skate for Kate — and what an absolutely perfect day. The weather couldn’t have been better, Kate was feeling well enough to participate in the cheering section, and family was there to cheer me on my 30-mile roller skate from the Ocean City inlet in Maryland to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. It felt good to dust off the ol’ roller derby helmet.

The awesome cheering section with a personalized message for their Baltimore native

Through the incredible generosity of so many, Skate for Kate raised over $6,500 for Kate’s favorite breast cancer support charity, Unite for HER. This event became so much more than I ever thought it could become, thanks to so many kind and wonderful people.

Our cousins came all the way from Indiana for the event!

Other than the constant scatter of gravel on the side of Ocean Highway, I was able to maintain a speed of between 10-12 mph for the entire skate. My training over the past two months really paid off. Kate’s sister, Rachael, made an incredible cape for the skate, which I wore for the entire Ocean City leg of the journey. Rachael and my uncle rode with me the entire way on bikes, and Rach sported the cape for the rest of the way.

Rachael’s amazing cape, and me with the amazing Kate! (My eyes are so puffy from the night before — I was overcome with emotion while packing up gear for the beach!)

I learned a lot about myself leading up to the skate, and enjoyed every moment. I’ve never really gone with the traditional route to anything, and intend to keep doing what I’m doing. I will continue to set a high bar for myself, and I hope to never stop challenging myself in everything I do. I also learned that you can kick majora$$ at age 43!
My motto for the year: “Use your crazy for good!”

Next year, I hope to do the skate again as a celebration of Kate’s recovery.